Intellectual Property

Gen 5 Fighters

Information about these fighters is a well kept secret in the movie. Their design and capabilities are unknown, but they are generally expected to be better than the F-18s the Top Gun pilots are using. This makes gen 5 fighters' capabilities and construction a trade secret.

Other "Trade" Secrets (Classified Information/Technologies)

Most likely, the existence of the uranium enrichment facility that is the target of the mission was intended to be kept secret, along with the locations of the SAM (surface to air missile) sites, but US government spying was able o uncover both, making them poorly kept secrets.

The US government's F-18s also contain classified technology in the form of weapon systems and navigation equipment. As these are military technologies, keeping them secret is crucial to national security, meaning they would not have patents.

Other Forms of Intellectual Property

Top Gun: Maverick does not particularly cover other forms of intellectual property, like patents and copyright. Some specific documents may be covered by copyright, but are more likely to be classified (secret). Some technologies shown may be covered by patent, but most of the technologies shown are military, so, like copyright, most are likely secrets rather than patented.

Impacts on Society

These instances of intellectual property have little direct impact on civilians, but the effectiveness of the military is important to civilian security.